Using the 5x5 as a warm-up for the 3x3

[Joël]

Hey guys,

I have been doing a little bit of 5x5 recently... I notice that when I do a couple of serious 5x5 solves, I usually have a lot of good times on the 3x3 after that. It's like the 5x5 takes my concentration to a higher level... And the 3x3 looks so easy after doing the 5x5...

I am thinking about doing a few 5x5 solves right before some official competition 3x3 solves. Did anyone ever try stuff like this?

- Jo?l.

 

[Erik]

Warming up is always a good thing, personaly before I touch any other puzzle I always do a 3x3 average. Perhaps doing a more complex puzzle first makes you faster at an easier afterwards. I'll give it a go, maybe it is indeed good. 5x5 is good then for your concentration, but is it good for your fingers too? After I have done 2x2, 3x3 goes always like hell (because my fingers must be adapted to 3x3 again).

Does anyone have special warming-up habbits? I always like to try new things...

Erik

 

[Scott]

This is an effective method. I use it.

It is the equivilant of using a "donut" or bat weight before batting in baseball.

 

[gillesvdp]

I have various techniques for warming up :

Blindfolded cubing : sets your mind on "focus mode" and warm your hands with the algorithms

Big cubes (5x5 and 4x4) : Good for looking ahead on the 3x3, and also good for warm up because it's usually harder to do R on a 5x5 than on a 3x3.

Hands under hot water (not very recommended, but can help if your hands are really cold)

I think that's it.

Gilles.

 

[BillT]

Although I don't really use it as a warm up technique, I have noticed improvements in my 3x3 times after a few 5x5 solves. I guessed the same reason as Gilles. Since it's harder to turn a 5x5, most of my effort goes into looking ahead so I don't need to stop between turns. I think also that larger cubes help you learn to find pieces faster, because there are so many to check.

-Bill

 

[pjgat09]

Not really a technique, but a few days ago I was doing a BLD for a couple of people and my hands started to shake. This was my first solve of the day. After I finished the BLD I was very warmed up and got some good speedsolving times.

 

[CraigBouchard]

Yah, Its like doing a 10x10, and then going to do a 3x3...When doing a 10x10 you need to find pieces faster, so you are scanning/analysing faster and seeing more pieces at once...meaning you can lookahead in F2L a lot easier...

 

[pjk]

I just do (R U' R' U) 6 times to warm up, and it gets my hands into it. Once I get into 5x5, that sounds like a good technique.

 

[gillesvdp]

Originally posted by PJK@Mar 24 2006, 12:59 AM
I just do (R U' R' U) 6 times to warm up, and it gets my hands into it. Once I get into 5x5, that sounds like a good technique.

You can also do (RU) 104 times (not completely sure about 104, but just do RU until the cube is solved again)

My best time at this is 47 seconds

 

[pjk]

I have began using the 4x4 to warm up for the 3x3, and it works well.

 

[krnballerzzz]

I just say "red leather, yellow leather" 50 times fast. Than I just cube until I feel like Im doing good. The 5x5 thing sounds like a good idea Joel.

 

[Gunnar]

Originally posted by gillesvdp+Mar 24 2006, 08:23 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (gillesvdp @ Mar 24 2006, 08:23 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-PJK@Mar 24 2006, 12:59 AM
I just do (R U' R' U) 6 times to warm up, and it gets my hands into it. Once I get into 5x5, that sounds like a good technique.

You can also do (RU) 104 times (not completely sure about 104, but just do RU until the cube is solved again)

My best time at this is 47 seconds [/b][/quote]
I got 46.31. B)

I didn't count how many repetitions there wa, but it was a lot, so I guess 104 could be correct.

 

[Rune]

104 has a prime factor 13. Can?t be!

 

[pjgat09]

I believe it is actually turning the 5x5 that makes your 3x3 times better. At rutgers, I helped out scrambling 5x5 cubes, while doing second round 3x3. My second round times were excellent! The only reason I can think of is that your hands become pumped from turning the not so loose 5x5, and when you do a 3x3 solve, its like cutting butter.

 

[cmhardw]

I find that sport stacking helps me so incredibly much for warming up on the 3x3. In sport stacking it's impossible to rush. If you rush, you will absolutely and completely explode the pyramids and have to run all over the place to pick up the cups.

In cubing if you rush, you feel like you are going fast and will a good time but in fact the solve is full of delays and lockups and the time is slow. Sport stacking really punishes you if you rush, so I find if I stack for a while then do some solves, I will already be solving in a really good rhythm.

I feel like stacking is 50-50 in the cubing community. Half of the people I talk to think it's cool, and the other half look at me weird :huh: . The two are so incredibly similar though, it's almost freaky. If you have cups, try it as a warm up to your solving, it does wonders for me.

Chris

 

[Scott]

I enjoy sportstacking. Personal record of 12.03

 

[MasterofRubix]

ive never cubed under pressure like at tournaments, but i do a little of pen spinning before every solve. it prepares my fingers to work fast with precision. i dont know if stretching is recommended but i also do it.

 

[AvGalen]

Hi everyone,

I have recently picked up cubing again, after losing interest somewhere around 1990 (I am 30 now). I bought a EastSheen 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 last Christmas and was immediately hooked again. After this I have also bought a Rubiks 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 and a 3x3x3 DIY and a 2x2x2 EastSheen Extra Large. Some of you might have seen me at the Belgian Open.

I have noticed that I get my fastest times by "piramid solving". This means you start small, than go large and then go small again. For example:
Solve 5 2x2x2, 4 3x3x3, 3 4x4x4 and 2 5x5x5 as a warmup. After this I do a 5x5x5, 4x4x4, 3x3x3 and 2x2x2 and all these solves almost always are my fastest.

This is also the order I usually solve when I do a 2-3-4-5 (http://www.speedcubing.com/records/recs_misc_2345.html).

I think this works so well because when you solve a 5x5x5 I use intuition for the centers, look-ahead when pairing up the edges and solve as a 3x3x3 with fewer moves because I can't use finger-tricks on my 5x5x5.

Than I start with a 4x4x4 and I don't see just one (obvious) way to do a couple of centers, but also a couple of ways to do these centers and prepare some more for easy positioning. Also pairing up the edges is easy because there are less. Finally solving as a 3x3x3 is faster because I can speed up a little and use some finger-tricks. Now if only I could avoid parities every time :angry:

Then the 3x3x3 seems easy, because I have just solved these bigger cubes. Because I am more confident, I always see a good way to do the cross and also looking ahead comes "naturally". Finally performing finger-tricks and longer sequences just seems easier than normal. The cube seems to move faster and more accurate.

The 2x2x2 finally is kind of like a nice dessert.

In short: more focussed, continually looking ahead, increasingly more fluent moves.

When I started doing 2-3-4-5 my times dropped from 13 minutes untill I reached 9 minutes. When I decided to do 5-4-3-2, my times immediately dropped to 8 minutes and I am approaching 7 minutes now.